kellyjs

Hi everyone
Well I've been reading through other peoples timelines, threads etc and It seems that there is little consistency in how long things progress after the meds are sent to OZ. Some people seem to hear within weeks whilst others wait months! Im in a bit of a state of desperation having decided that I want to make the move in October and can't put the house up for sale until I know we've been accepted. It would be good to hear about other peoples experiences of this stage? Up until the meds I thought THAT was the most stressful point but it all seems to be getting worse. At the moment we are all living in a state of limbo, everything hanging on whether or not we get the visa. I can't concentrate on work,can't make any concrete plans, friends have asked me if I have a "plan B" in the event of NOT getting in, but quite honestly I haven't got the energy to think that far ahead

Wendy

We have all felt/feel exactly the same. It really is awful. Although I have to say, having a visa and a house to sell is just as bad!. Knowing that you can go at anytime, but being tied to the house is enough to really get you down.

Our visa was issued 3 weeks after out meds and PCC's were received in Adelaide. The reason some take a bit longer is that there may be problems with the meds that need resolving. Also there will be final checks that your CO needs to do, so depending on your case this could take a week or it could take 10 weeks.

What is your timeline and how far have you got?

Cheetah7

Plan B's open up a whole new Pandora's box in my book because they make you face up to some of the reasons that you want to move to Australia for in the first place.

We do have a plan B, and that is to move to Italy should our plans to Australia fall through. (praying that they don't)

We have had our meds but our character checks with DIMA could take months due to hubby being foreign.

Now I know what you mean about being in Limbo. I have turned down perm. jobs that would have been ideal for me, as I dont think it is fair to go through the recruitment process to let the employers down.

Like you, I would also like us to be in Australia in October, yet this is out of our hands.

This is how we am dealing with it, it might not work for you but here it is anyway.

Firstly, 'make peace' with the UK. By this I mean discover the beauty of this country and what it has to offer.

If you can accept that crime happens anywhere, good and bad in everyone etc. and make efforts to appreciate your surroundings of where you are living now, then whilst you may not be able to move forward too much due to your future plans, you can at least hold your head up and make your life bearable.

With regards to employment, do your best in what you do, give 110 percent commitment for what you are doing now and try and put all thoughts of migrating out of your head whilst at work. It will keep your head out of the clouds and focus on what you have now and what is in front of you.

Keep busy. I know you cant make concrete plans but you can make short term plans and goals to benefit you and keep you occupied.

I have enrolled in a short course in Advertising which is something I have always wanted to do, and will do by correspondence.

So if there is anything you are interested in but haven't dared to try, now is the time to do it.

It doesn't have to be anything big, even a day course at your local college.

Also, I spend ages looking at properties, researching where I want to live in Oz. I do this at home and have figured, that if I cant think about Australia at work, I can indulge myself at home and its all useful research.

It is really hard as we dont know how long our character checks will take due to my husbands country of birth and I know how you are feeling with the not being able to plan too far ahead.

Don't beat yourself up about not having a plan B, just learn to see what you have now, what you could have in the future and go with the flow.

Very hard, but it can be done.

Good luck

kellyjs

Hi Wendy and PP, thanks for replying (as always), you never let me down!
Wendy, my RPL took a couple of years to go through so I start my timeline from when my application was recieved in OZ;
August 2005 - App acknowledged.
March 2006 - Police checks front loaded
End March-CO assigned, meds, police checks and further info requested
April 5th-Further info sent
April 10th 2006-Meds done
April 12th 2006-Meds sent to Sydney by courier


So far 8 1/2 months and counting.....

PP i agree with your advice totally. I feel like everything I do at the moment could be for the last time in London so am taking as many opportunities to do something different. We just came back from a short holiday in Cumbria and the lakes, furthest north I've ever been and had a wonderful time! I'm even going out more often and leaving the boyfriend to babysit, not something I've ever done but as I may not be seeing my friends for quite some time I'm making a conscious decision to try and spend quality time with all of them.
Also looking at realestate and researching, I'm subscribed to realestate.com's daily alert of new properties!
I think I will try something new, start a course, get involved with something different. Thanks again for replying, I really don't know what I'd do without this forum sometimes!

Wendy

You should get your visa in approximately 4 -6 weeks from now. Start monitoring the housing market in your area. See what's for sale, how much it's for, how fast they are selling. Most important see which agent seems to be shifting the most properties.

This will also take up some of your time to make it go faster.

kellyjs

I'm pretty lucky as I don't think I'm going to have a problem selling the house. Houses don't go up for sale in my street as its quite a sought after area. We'll see though. How long have you had your up for sale? THAT must be so frustrating as there are so many time wasters out there!

micged

Hi, our timeline is almost identical. We applied end of July and sent our meds of at the the end of March, now we are just waiting, it is killing us. Hopefully we will all hear in the next couple of months, then the real stress of trying to sell the house etc will start! We would love to be across by Christmas but unless we hear soon it will be difficult.
Michelle

kellyjs

Hi Michelle
Lets hope we both get our visas soon then Do you have to make the investment or are you just waiting for the visa?

Wendy

It's been up for sale since Jan 24th. We accepted an offer on Thursday, so all being well will be out of here soon.

kellyjs

Karma sent your way, best of luck x

micged

No we don't have to make any investments we are just waiting. I have to give a terms notice at work and so it is now too late for me too leave this summer, the earliest would be Xmas if we have the all clear by August. Otherwise it will be next Easter and a validation trip at christmas. In the middle of all this we also have to sell the house and work out when to put it on the market. God it is complicated!
Michelle

kellyjs

Do you work in a school? I do but am support so only need to give a months notice. Could you not negotiate a lessewr notice period?

crawling

Think you need to be careful in saying "little consistency" - if the meds are all OK that timeline will be pretty consistant.

If the meds are frontloaded it may seem like ages to wait. The CO may also have other outstanding non-med issues like background checks which add to the timeline. LCU may initiate further enquiries if required which may add time to the timeline too. Each case is slightly different.

kellyjs

Hi
Well this is the problem with looking at other peoples timelines as they don't really show you the hiccups\problems\delays that person had. I know the massive differences are because of other issues and Im not saying that theres a problem with that. Its obvious that each case is different and I for one am GLAD that Oz migration is as thorough as it is. I just wanted to get some feedback to find out how other people had got on. Its often enough to hear about other peoples experiences as for all of us this is unknown territory. I think it is an expensive risk to front load your meds but on the other hand, if all is ok I do think it speeds up the final result. Well thats how it appears from timelines anyway, but again who knows?

Bookie

Snap! Our meds were sent on 12 April. Don't know if they are there yet cos Easter was in the way. Be interesting to see who gets it first.